CHICAGO -- On the dawn of NASCAR’s revamped Chase for the Sprint Cup, featuring a host of new wrinkles, the bulk of the attention has centered on which drivers should be considered championship favorites.
NASCAR Chicago 2014: Joe Gibbs Racing believes in a Chase turnaround
Buoyed by recent gains in performance, the drivers for Joe Gibbs Racing think good things are ahead in the Chase.
Chris Graythen
Notably omitted in that discussion is any driver representing Joe Gibbs Racing, as Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin enter the Chase with significantly lower expectations than years past.
The consensus is that Brad Keselowski, Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick are the favorites, and this is an assertion Busch seems to agree with, according to his recent comments.
“We know our level isn’t high enough,” Busch said, speaking at Chase Media Day in Chicago. “We know there’s room to grow because of what we’re getting beat by every single week. The 2 (Brad Keselowski), the 4 (Kevin Harvick) and the 24 (Jeff Gordon) -- they’re your favorites. How much more can they pick up? I don’t know.”
Its current state is an unusual one for JGR. A year ago, Kenseth (seven wins), Busch (four) and Hamlin (one) combined for 12 victories, with Kenseth and Busch the No. 1 and 2 Chase seeds, respectively. This season, however, Busch and Hamlin have just one victory each and Kenseth is winless.
Why the regression? The easy answer is the lack of horsepower JGR and its Toyota-powered cars have shown for the majority of the year. But Hamlin says other factors have contributed as well.
“I don’t want to put it all on the engines, because it’s kind of a scapegoat -- the engines didn’t cause us to run poorly (last week) at Richmond,” Hamlin said. “Toyota catches a lot of flak for the speed we have, but it’s not totally them. But we know we are down in some areas, but we’re going to get better.”
"We just haven't had the speed on the race track to compete with the cars that are up front every single week. But I was assured we have better stuff coming."-Denny Hamlin
Since July, JGR has shown signs of vitality.
Busch finished runner-up in three of four races before cooling off in the weeks leading into the Chase. Meanwhile, Hamlin was in contention at Indianapolis, Bristol and Atlanta, and Kenseth ended the regular season third in point and tied for second in top five and top 10 finishes.
“I feel like we’ve been getting more competitive,” Kenseth said. “... I feel like we’ve been getting closer, we’ve been running in the top five a lot. All the finishes don’t show up because we’ve been caught up in so many accidents this year.”
That uptick in performance is attributed to an increase in horsepower and aerodynamic gains -- specifically on intermediate-sized tracks. That could bode well in playoffs where half the schedule consists of 1.5-ovals, including Sunday’s Chase opener at Chicagoland Speedway; a “telltale race for Joe Gibbs Racing,” in Hamlin’s estimation.
“We got all the tools to do it,” Hamlin said. “We just haven’t had the speed on the race track to compete with the cars that are up front every single week. But I was assured we have better stuff coming.”
The Chase particularly sets up well for Hamlin, as New Hampshire, Talladega, Texas, Phoenix and Homestead are among his best tracks. It’s a slate of races which has him feeling optimistic about what’s ahead.
“As soon as I saw this grid and how it worked out I was like, ‘Wow, this is tailor-made for us,’” Hamlin said. “We’ve just got to get to that Eliminator Eight or whatever it’s called. That’s where we get in the wheelhouse of our tracks that we’ve performed well in the past.
“For us, if we can make it to Homestead and have a shot, we go from being the extreme underdogs going into this to probably the favorite being we’ve won there over the last couple of years.”
Winning in the Chase carries more importance than years prior. The playoffs have been divided into four rounds, and a victory in one of the first three segments guarantees advancement. (Four drivers will be eliminated after the third, sixth and ninth races.)
Having closed the noticeable gap on the competition since the beginning of the season, and with assurances made that the engines will be improved, JGR’s drivers are brimming with confidence about what the Chase holds.
“I could be wrong, but I really feel like we’re going to win some races this year,” Kenseth said. “And with the way the Chase is set up, hopefully we can get some at the right time.”
Said Hamlin: “I know with a little bit more power, a little bit more downforce we could have a few more wins. To me, it’s new life for our race team. We all got in, now we just have to perform.”
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